X

Intel's 48-core processor debut (photos)

Intel showed off systems running an experimental 48-core processor Wednesday. Here's a look a the chip and the systems.

Stephen Shankland
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Stephen Shankland
scc-h-wafer-sm.jpg
1 of 8 Intel

Close-up of SCC chip

Intel debuted and demonstrated its Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC) processor Wednesday. The processor has 48 cores--24 dual-core "tiles"--connected with a high-speed mesh network. Intel wants the experimental chip, at least 100 of which it'll distribute to researchers in 2010, to lead to new attempts to tackle multicore system and software design. Ultimately, Intel believes its aggressive multicore approach will be the way computers get enough power for tasks such as vision and speech comparable to what humans have.
SCC_gallery-1.jpg
2 of 8 Stephen Shankland/CNET

Intel CTO Justin Rattner holds the SCC wafer

Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner showed off the SCC chip. Here he holds a silicon wafer of the processors at a press event in San Francisco. The processor consumes between 25 and 125 watts of power--the numbers from Rattner's slide presentation projected on the wafer.
SCC_gallery-4.jpg
3 of 8 Stephen Shankland/CNET

SCC prototype computer system

Intel had two SCC prototype computers on display. Because the SCC chips use ordinary x86 processor cores, regular software such as Windows and Linux can run on them. The SCC systems can accommodate up to 64GB of memory, but this machine had 16GB.
scc-Chip-sm.jpg
4 of 8 Intel

SCC chip up close

Intel's SCC chip's x86 cores each are comparable in power to the lower-end Atom line used in Netbooks today. Intel expects programmers eventually will have to reckon with many more cores. That's an issue that the computing industry is struggling to adjust to because most PC software is geared to perform a single sequence of instructions, not many things in parallel.
ssc_diagram.jpg
5 of 8 Intel

Intel SCC chip anatomy

Each node on the SCC chip includes two x86 cores with its own memory cache. Linking them to the outside world is router circuitry that handles networking on the chip. The network lets processors exchange information and communicate with any of four DDR3 memory banks.
SCC_gallery-2.jpg
6 of 8 Stephen Shankland/CNET

SCC chip motherboard

The SCC motherboard features a giant central block for the single SCC processor.
SCC_gallery-5.jpg
7 of 8 Stephen Shankland/CNET

SCC system side view

Another look at an SCC system. It had two fans on the back and was larger than your average PC, but was hardly as mammoth as, for example, four-socket servers.
SCC_gallery-3.jpg
8 of 8 Stephen Shankland/CNET

SCC chip heat sink

It looks like Intel wants to keep its SCC chips cool, judging by the size and amount of copper around the processor.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos